Electronic payment systems are known in the art. An electronic payment system may include a service provider that makes payments to a payee on behalf of a payor. A payment request is submitted to the service provider by a payor or on behalf of a payor. The payment request includes information identifying the payee and an amount of the payment to be made. Once the payment request is received, the service provider processes the request to complete the payment on behalf of the payor.
The processing performed by the service provider includes determining a form of payment. Forms of payment include both paper and electronic payment. In paper payment, the service provider prepares a paper instrument (e.g., a check drawn on an account of the service provider or a draft drawn on an account of the payor) and delivers it to the payee. In electronic payment, the service provider uses one of many possible avenues to electronically credit funds to the payee. One option is to direct, via the ACH network, that funds be electronically credited to a demand deposit account belonging to the payee.
The lead time of a payment is the time that is required subsequent to payment request processing to ensure timely delivery of a payment to a payee. The lead time of an electronic payment and the lead time of a paper payment may be different. Some payment systems may display one or more lead times independent of any particular payment request. However, processing of a particular payment request may definitively determine the form or method of payment for a payment made on behalf of the payment request.